The event is the culmination of a competition that began in early December in which teams of students develop ideas for new businesses and write formal business plans. They then pitch their plans to a panel of judges with expertise in venture capital, investment banking and entrepreneurship. Winners will take home $25,000 in cash and other prizes.

The top two teams are offered free office space for the summer at Plug and Play Tech Center in Silicon Valley, a community of more than 200 technology startup companies in the areas of Web 2.0, software, systems, semiconductors and telecommunications. They will receive free legal advice from startup lawyers and mentorship from venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and CEOs.

The climax of the TigerLaunch event will come between 2:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m., when the five finalist teams present their plans to the audience and the judges.